Oil saving device



Oct. 24, 1950 E. o. KUNKEL OIL SAVING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June4, 1946 IIIIII Oct. 24, 1950 KUNKEL 2,526,957

OIL SAVING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 28.; fT/ & 72/2542 sax/E] I/uwltor 543g 0. 'hmwef.

Patented Oct. 24, 1950 i: c .1; l,1 526,957w ,1

f ort-sevmo DEVICE a ,7 Elzy O. K' mke1, Mattoon, Ill.

Application June 4, 1946, Serial No. 674,178

My improvement pertains to an oil saving de vice' of that class-ofattachment adapted to minimize waste of oil, lessen dangers of fires,clean oil and dirt from cables during the vertical movement thereof, andmoreexplicitly has reference to an adjustable tensioning meansresilient'--- 1y embracing and yieldingly guiding an oil Well cable.

The-principal objects of the invention reside in providing an attachmentwhich may be utilized uponoilwell cables of any size, for wiping oiltherefrom as the cable is reeled in or reciprocated in the oil wellcasing; which may be readily adjusted. to give anydesired wiping actionupon the cable; and which is especially constructed to minimize wearupon the cable-or the device.

Ancillary objects include the construction of a device in accordancewith the preceding objects, which shall be compact, of light weight,easily assembled and disassembled for repairs and of economicalconstruction.

These, together with various other objects which will become laterapparent are attained by my device, whereof the drawings are to beregarded as illustrative only, and wherein:

Figure l is a vertical elevation showing the device in disassembledrelation to a well casing;

Figure 2 is a horizontal plan view through the invention, being takensubstantially upon the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the line33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, taken at right angles thereto,but showing a modification; and

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the cable guiding means shown inFigure 1.

Reference is first had to Figure 1, wherein I0 denotes generally myimproved wiper, while I2 identifies an oil well steel cable adapted toreciprocate vertically in a conventional oil well casing I4 having ahead or cap I6. The accessory I0 is formed by a housing I8 having aflanged and tapered lower extremity 20 adapted to be detachably securedin the well head I6 in known manner by fastening means 22.

At its upper end, the housing l8 supports a cable guide block 24carrying a plurality of grooved cable embracing guide rollers 26, theblock 24 being preferably integral with housing I8, although it may beseparately formed where desired.

Turning now to Figure 2, it will be seen that housing I8 has an axialpassageway receiving cable l2 loosely and slidingly therein, and is 4Claims; (01. 286-16) formed or has secured thereto a pluralityof'radially positioned, axially extending, ribs or bosses *28. 'As shownmore clearly in section in: Figure -3, the ribs 28-have radial guideslots or' channels 30 extending completely therethrough: into the axialpassageway, the ribs terminating in rectangular fianges 32, and axialsleeves 34..

Correspondingly contoured rectangular end plates:

36are detachably secured to the ends of the sleeves 34 in parallelismwith flanges 32 by'fast'en-- ingmeans 3 8. Itwillbe understood that anysuitable fastening means may be employed in conformity with theinvention. n

Slidingly disposed radially in the channels 30 are wiping members-40; ofany suitable resilient, deformable packing material. Members 40 mayconveniently -be'of spongy rubber or porous, fibrous material and pressagainst and in their entirety substantially encircle and embrace thecable I2, to wipe the oil therefrom and clean the same as the cablereciprocates through their combined grip. A follower plate 42 looselyfits in each slot 30 behind the packing 40 and serves to apply uniformlythereto the pressure of the adjustment member 44, which may convenientlytake the form of a headed bolt, screw-threaded through the end plate 36.Attention is now directed to Figure 4, wherein I have depicted amodified form of packing or stuffing box. In this form, which isdesigned for a superior wiping and sealing action for heavier duty, acasing or radial rib III] has one or more transverse or horizontalpartitions IIZ therein, thus forming vertically or axially spaced guidechambers H4 and I I6. Each chamber slidingly receives a packing block II8, while a loosely fitting follower plate I20 is engaged by adjustingscrews I22, threaded through the cover member I 24, one such memberbeing used for each rib. In this embodiment, one horizontal set ofpackings may be of heavier, less yielding construction than the otherset, if

desired, in order to perform the additional function of guiding anddampening the vibrations of the reciprocating cable, and the variouspackings may be individually adjusted to any preonly of the principlesof my invention, and that I do not limit myself thereto except asrequired by the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wiper for oil well lines, comprising a house ing, an axial cablereceiving passage therein, a plurality of radial diametrically opposedribs thereon and extending axially the entire length of said housing,said ribs having upperv and lower extremities terminating in commonparallel horizontal planes, radial slots in said ribs communicating withsaid axial passage, partition means for each slot forming therewith aplurality of axially spaced guides, resilient cable wiping blocksslidably received within said spaced guides and extending the fulllength of said housing and engaging said cable throughout the fulllength of said axial passage, andmeans for adjustably urging said wipingmeans towards said axial passage.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said adjusting means comprisesflanges upon each rib extending transversely from said ribs andperpendicular thereto, a plate abutting said ends of the ribs, fasteningmeans securing said plate to said flanges, a screw and followeradjustable through said plate for individually urging each of saidwiping blocks against said cable.

3. The combination of claim 2, and a cable guide means supported solelyby an end of said housing for axially aligning said cable with saidaxial passage, and outwardly tapered means for detachably clamping saidhousing to a well head.

4. A cable wiper, comprising a housing, an axial cable receiving passagetherein, a plurality of ribs thereon and extending axially the entirelength of said housing, said ribs having upper and lower extremitiesterminating in common parallel planes, slots in said ribs communicatingwith said axial passage, partition means for each slot forming therewitha plurality of axially spaced guides, cable wiping means slidablyreceived within said spaced guides and engaging said cable substantiallythe full length of said axial passage, means for adjustably urging saidwiping means towards said axial passage.

ELZY O. KUNKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 818,740 Callanan Apr. 24, 19061,258,901 Hodge Mar. 12, 1918 1,721,806 Crowell July 23, 1929 1,782,851Hoffman. et a1. Nov. 25,, 1930 1,881,555 Heggem Oct. 11, 1932 2,136,465Pranger et a1 0' Nov. 15, 1938 2,185,925 Sparr Jan. 2, 1940

